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It seems that every week, Chrysler demonstrates some new phase of its determination to transform its three-year-old lifeline into solid viability -- dare we even say, success? The company that has come to define corporate melodrama over the last 30 years looks more and more like the formidable long-term player that Chrysler never quite has been until now.

And it's no longer any contest which company, Chrysler or General Motors, has done a better job of leveraging the new lease on life made available to it by the U.S. taxpayer bailouts in 2009. GM seems to be slipping a bit closer to the realm of almost-predictable disappointment, while Chrysler is becoming a revelation.

Consider one new savvy move by Chrysler, and two new bits of validation.

Just as an uptick in the housing market has joined the stubborn general automotive recovery in renewing hopes for the U.S. pickup-truck market, Chrysler is introducing a vastly overhauled version of its mainstay Ram 1500 model this month, also just in time for what is annually the strongest season for truck sales.

Chrysler's product brain trust recognized early last year that its pickup-segment competitors would be falling into a lull in their own product cycles. GM isn't expected to introduce an all-new Chevrolet Silverado until next summer, and Ford won't follow with a new F-150, the segment leader, until 2015.

So Chrysler locked in a more thorough upgrade of Ram for this fall than the less-extensive mid-cycle refresh it had been planning. "I am going to be the only one in the marketplace with a new truck," Robert Hegbloom, director of the Ram brand, told the Detroit Free Press. "It's fantastic timing."

Moreover, the new Ram 1500 seems to be a vehicle worthy of a fresh look, with a new V6 engine and eight-speed transmission, 2-mpg better highway mileage than any competitor, and even Chrysler's first manifestation of new engine "stop-start" technology that turns off the engine when idled and restarts it upon acceleration, to boost fuel efficiency.

Also, Strategic Vision has released its highly regarded Total Quality Index for 2012, and it reaffirmed Chrysler's surprising surge in actual and perceived vehicle quality. Overall, the company placed three winners of segment quality awards, out of a total of 22 segments, tying a few other OEMs for the most awards. It also finished tied for second overall in the survey of more than 45,000 consumers, with Ford, behind Volkswagen.

And Chrysler's performance as the "most improved" OEM this year caught the attention of the head of the San Diego-based research and consulting firm. "They are definitely beginning to turn things around," said Darrel Edwards, founder of Strategic Vision.

That endorsement came just days after Chrysler performed well on yet another third-party evaluation of its products: It placed the Fiat 500 No.3 and the Dodge Dart No. 1 on KBB.com's new list of "10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000." Notably, Dart won the day even before it's available in volume at Dodge dealerships, with KBB.com crediting the new Fiat-Chrysler collaborative effort with an "enticing combination of style, performance, features and value" including "exceptional interior space and loads of personalization potential."